Ricky Ponting calls for specialist opener to replace David Warner

The former skipper has called on Australia to follow tradition when replacing David Warner, and he nominates the player who has made the best case.

Cameron Bancroft, above, Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw are all in the mix to replace Warner, but Ponting believes Bancroft has made the best case. Picture: Getty Images

Ricky Ponting has warned Australia not to move away from picking a traditional opener when David Warner’s Test career has finished as talk swirls of moving more dynamic players up the order to fill the gap left by the 100-Test veteran.

In recent weeks there has been speculation Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne or Travis Head could replace Warner.

The move would allow selectors to pick Cameron Green in the side after Andrew McDonald admitted there were concerns he was missing international cricket having lost his spot to Marsh.

Ponting, who will be commentating for Channel 7 on Australia’s first Test of the summer against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday, said he asked Shane Watson to open in England but it was special circumstances.

“I think it should be a specialist opener,” Ponting said. “People might say ‘hang on, when you were captain you wanted Shane Watson to go up and open the batting, and he wasn’t a specialist opener.

“That’s right, I did, because in that team we didn’t have the all-rounder that we wanted and the only way we could get him in the side was as an opener. It was on an Ashes tour and we had a limited squad to choose from.

“I remember distinctly sitting him down and asking him if he reckoned he could do it, as he had done it in the one-day side at that point.

“But with this team, I’m reading of Marnus going up there, Mitch Marsh going up there and I read something recently about Travis Head going up there.

“Before we make any changes, let’s just have a think about what those players have done in those positions.

“Marnus has been one of the most successful No.3s in world cricket for the last three or four years.

“If he goes up, Smith potentially moves from four to three. He has been one of the all-time greats at four for a long time.

“Travis has had the best two years of any international player at No.5 over the last couple of years.”

Ricky Ponting talks to an injured Nathan Lyon during the Ashes tour in July. Picture: Getty Images

Ponting said Green would just have to wait.

“I know they are trying to find a slot for Cameron Green in the team but it is just not there for him at the moment,” he said.

“He went out of the team and presented an opportunity for Mitch Marsh, who played an unbelievable knock at Headingley and then played a match-saving innings at Manchester, and right now he deserves to be in that No.6 slot.

“Go ahead and pick your best opener and Cam has to wait for his next opportunity.”

Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw, who all have experience at Test level as openers, are all in the mix to replace Warner.

Ponting believes Bancroft has made the best case.

The captain-turned-commentator said he was comfortable with Warner playing on and defended the selectors’ decision to stick with him even though his form has been in something of a decline.

“The fact Warner is still in the team says more about the potential replacements than it does about him,” he said.

“The selectors have to have an idea and I am sure they do about where they are going and how they can stagger a lot of these senior guys out of the team at the moment, with an eye to the future but also with an eye to the bigger series.

“With Davey, we know he will be done this summer and someone will come up and get a run of a few Test matches before they play against India next summer.

“In the last few years of my ­career I wasn’t playing as well as I could, but every time I went back to Shield cricket I made runs and the selectors said, ‘well, there’s no one better at the moment’.

“It hasn’t just dawned on the ­selectors they need to replace Warner and probably Usi in the next couple of years, and I think they will know who will take that spot and I think it will be a specialist opener.”

McDonald said the team had faith in the three possible replacements for Warner who have all had Test match experience.

“We know they can play, they’ve got good numbers in Shield cricket and I think if we were to go down that path and choose one of them, I think they would do a really good job,” McDonald said.